King's Plate winner Mansetti is 2-1 favorite for Prince of Wales
Mansetti was made the morning-line favorite for Tuesday's Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie Race Track.
Prolific trainer Kevin Attard entered Mansetti into the race in a bid to keep the horse’s run in the Canadian Triple Crown going. Having already won the King’s Plate in August, Mansetti enters the race as the horse to beat at 2-1 odds.
Piloting the star horse will be Pietro Moran, a rapidly rising star in the world of horse racing, who at just 20 years old became one of the youngest jockeys ever to win the King’s Plate. Moran was at Fort Erie on Tuesday to give Mansetti a feel for the dirt trick. The change of surface from synthetic track at Woodbine to the more traditional dirt course in Fort Erie sometimes can prove tricky for horses running for the Triple Crown, but Moran said he thinks it will be a smooth transition for Mansetti.
“It’s a different surface, but I don't think it will matter with him because he’s such a talented horse, he doesn’t seem concerned,” Moran said as he guided Mansetti around the historic border oval in the early-morning hours Tuesday. Owned by father-and-son duo Al and Bill Ulwelling, the pair are looking for their second Prince of Wales Stakes victory after winning the race two years ago.
As for having an opportunity to take a run at the Triple Crown at such a young age, Moran said he’s trying to take it all in and rely on the horse to do its job.
“We’re just going to take it one step at a time,” Moran said. “You definitely need a special kind of horse if you want to have a shot at the Triple Crown, and I think we’ve got one here with Mansetti. We’ve already got one race out of the way, now we’re looking for the second, and he’s got a great chance, so we’ll see what happens next Tuesday.”
Two other Attard-trained horses will be running in the Stakes, Dewolf (7-2) and Faber (5-1). Rounding out the field of seven is Scorching (3-1) trained by John Charalambous, Runaway Again (10-1) trained by Sid Attard, Ashley’s Archer (10-1) trained by Mark Casse and in the long-shot position, Humber River (12-1) trained by Bob Tiller.